Renowned sculptor Louise Bourgeois is best-known for her large-scale sculptures, including steel spiders, and haunting exhibitions, such as the Cell. But her smaller, less-famous pieces are just as poignant as these grand figures. Starting in the 1960s, Bourgeois began to use her clothing and the clothing of her friends and family in the creation of her artwork. This form of art allowed Bourgeois to express elements of her past and her feelings about her own life in new and unique ways. She combined scraps of bold colors and different sized fabrics into abstract patterns of stripes, concentric circles, spirals, and more, sometimes using flowers, buttons, and beads in her designs as well. Bourgeois also made fabric books with stories and pictures printed on cloth, which often came from her own wardrobe. Overall she created a collection of truly surprising interweaves with many personal references.

LOUISE BOURGEOIS: THE FABRIC WORKS examines these designs and the soul behind this “tormented and at the same time powerful woman,” as Germano Celant writes, that has played a great role in the history of contemporary art. Edited by Germano Celant in collaboration with Louise Bourgeois herself and her New York studio, her art is all brought together for the first time to make the most complete register of her work to-date.